Air-washer.



G. P. THURBER.

AIR WASHER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY16,191'2.

Patented Nov. 10, 1914.

Inventor wltnesses Attorneys i we sher.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GUY P. THURBER, F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESI VE ASSIGN-MENTS, TO AUTOMATIC TRAIN CONTROL & SIGNAL COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH,PENNfiYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

AIR-WASHER.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, GUY P. 'llnunnnn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Air-Washer, of which thefol lowing is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in air washers, theprimary object of the invention being the provision of a novel meansadapted to be disposed in the pipe line of an air brake system forseparating any lubricant or foreign substances from the air, so that theair when delivered to the various operating mechanisms of the system,and more especially to a plurality of train controlling devices as usedin connection with the train control and signal systems set forth in thepatent to Gardner B. Gray, No. 909,083 dated January 5, 1909, will befree of such substances, thus preventing injury to the operating partsof the many delicate instruments used in systems or" this character.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of an airwasher and air separator adapted to be connected in the train line of anair brake system and so disposed that the air must pass therethrough,said air washer being provided with an anti-freezing and oil removingfluid, such as wood alcohol, and a plurality of screening means beingdisposed within the washer to assist in more evenly separating theforeign substances from the air, the air in passing through the washerhavihg imparted to it a rotating or twirling motion to facilitate theremoval of the moisture from the air. lVith the foregoing and otherobjects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, theinvention resides in the comhination and arrangement of parts and in thedetails of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it beingunderstood that changes in the precise embodiment of the inventionherein disclosed can he made with in the scope of what is claimedwithout dethe invention re 1 is a vertical through the air ion takenline a section taken on lo the dr central 5 is a section l 0 is aSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 16,

' Patented Nov... 10, 1914.. 1912. serial No. 697,825.

Theair Washer which is clearly shown in detail 1n Fig. 1, is providedwith a removable cover into which is led the respective inlet train pipe1 and outlet train pipe 3, the lower end of the washer being reduced andprovided with the drain port 16 closed by the plug 17. The plug 18closes the central port of the cover 15, but may have led there fromanother lead pipe such as 3, if deemed necessary.

In order to fully set forth the operation of the device, the descri tionof the washer will start with the admission of the air to the we ing 2.Mounted in and carried by the cover 15 and in communication with thetrain pipe 1 are the two couplings 19 which carry the concentricallydisposed inlet pipe 20 which terminates at a point above the lower endof the casing 2 and is provided with the spun mm 21 which secures thelower perforated disk 22 in fixed relation to the pipe 20. This disk 22is oh lesser diameter than the diameter of the chamber of the casing 2and has connected thereto the tie'rods 23 Whose upper ends are connectedto the spider 23. Carried by the tie rods intermediate of their ends, isthe fine mesh disk or screen 2 1, which is slightly above the perforateddisk 22, and the perforated disk 25 made of similar material to the disk22 which latter has its periphery in contact with the wall of thechamber of the casing 2, while carried by the spider 23 is a fine meshscreen 26, the mesh thereof being the same size as that of the screen24. The intermediate disk 25 is provided with the sleeve 27 whichprovides acircular space about the pipe 20 thus causing the air tofollow the direction of the arrows in Fig. 1 to pass out or the lowerend of the pipe 20 and upwardly through the body of alcohol whichpreferably fills approximately one-halt of the interior out-the chamberof the casing 2 and is maintained at all times slightly above the finemesh screen 20, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. An inverted funnel shapedhood 29 carried by the spider 23 which itself carries the concentricallydisposed tuhe or sleeve 30. *la by l per end of the ale ch oonstit'u andthe outer surface of the inverted conical deflector 36. The deflector 36is provided with the outwardly and downwardly flaring rim 37, while madefast to the lower end of the deflector 36 is a sleeve 38 which ismounted upon the tube 20 and hasconnected thereto the spiral wings 39which force the air to take a spiralpath, thus imparting a rotary motionto the air.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawings, itis evident that the air entering the pipe 1 and following the directionof the arrow downwardly through the stationary pipe 20, will enter thebody of the alcohol and will pass through and around the perforated disk22 and through the screen mesh 24 thus being broken up to a considerableextent so that the oil and gum carried by the air will be removedtherefrom by the alcohol, said air entering the channel 28 of theperforated disk 25 and also passing through the perforations of the diskto and through the screen 26. At such point the hood 29 will .deflect orguide the air into the tube 30 where by reason of the spiral 39 the airis caused to rotate around the fixed tube 38 and the deflector 36. Bythis means any of the alcohol that is carried by the air will bedeflected outwardly by the deflector 36 and its rim 37 due tocentrifugal force, and will flow downwardly upon the stationary baflle32 and finally into the casing or chamber of the washer. The washed airmay then pass upwardly and out of the conducting pipe 3 to the desiredconduit leading to the various train controlling devices.

It has beenfound by experience, that the alcohol in the washer willremove all of the gum and oil from the air and that even though a slightamount of the alcohol be carried by the conduit 3 through the variousvalves and ports of the train controlling devices, that this alcoholdoes not have any detrimental effect upon the parts but really assistsin cleaning the ports and'valves and keeping them in proper workingorder.

What is claimed is:

1. An air washer comprising a casing containing a body of liquid, an airinlet pipe extending into and terminating within the body of liquid,means for imparting a rotating motion to the air rising from the liquid,and a separator, in the path of the rotating air, acting to separate themoisture from the air.

2. An air washer comprising a casing containing a body of liquid, an airinlet pipe extending-into and terminating within the body of liquid,means above the liquid, for imparting a rotating motion to the airrising from the liquid, a separator in the path of separator so that themoisture contained in I the air will be thrown outwardly on to thebaflle plate.

3. An air washer comprising a casing containing a body of liquid, an airinlet pipe extending into and terminating within the body of liquid, anupright sleeve within the casing, means for leading the air escapingfrom the body of liquid into the sleeve aforesaid, means within saidsleeve for imparting a rotating motion to the air, and a separator,above the sleeve aforesaid acting to separate the moisture from the air.

4. An air washer comprising a casing containing a body of liquid, an airinlet pi e extending into and terminating within t e body of liquid, asleeve surrounding said inlet pipe in spaced relation therefrom at apoint above the level of the liquid, means for leading the air escapingfrom the body of liquid into the sleeve aforesaid, a member surroundingthe air inlet pipe and within the sleeve adapted to imparta rotatinmotion to the air, and a separator surroun ing the air inlet pipe abovethe sleeve.

5. An air washer comprising a casing containing a body of liquid, an airinlet pipe extending into and terminating within the body of liquid.means for confining the air after leaving the liquid, a spiral'mountedin said confining means, and a separator above the spiral.

6. An air washer comprising a casing containing a body of liquid, an airinlet pipe extending concentrically and downwardly into and terminatingwithin the body of liquid, means surrounding said pipe for confining theair after leaving the liquid, a spiral mounted within said confiningmeans, a member above the confining means having an inverted conicalsurface and an outwardly and downwardly flaring rim above the invertedconical surface, and a downwardly inclined baffle plate surrounding theinverted conical surface and in spaced relation therefrom.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixedmy signature in the prescnce of two witnesses.

. GUY P. THURBER.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH Knox STONE, GARDNER B. GRAY.

